Following my accident during a soccer tournament in March, I went to a local hospital where my shoulder was immobilized in the ER. After a few days, the shoulder still hurt a lot. My pediatrician suggested to contact Laura Porcella, who is the Ambassador for HSS in the Dominican Republic. After speaking with her, coincidentally, Dr. David Helfet was in the DR, so we sent her a picture of my x-ray for him to take a look at. Immediately, he informed us we should set up an appointment next Monday at his office at HSS.
We flew to NYC the next day and visited his office on Monday. After being diagnosed by Dr. Helfet and his team, the decision was that surgery was needed. The date was set for Wednesday early in the morning. I arrived at the hospital with my family at 5:30 AM. The admission procedure was very easy and efficient, specially with all the help we received from Lady Perez from the HSS International Center.
The surgery lasted for approximately one hour and I stayed in recovery for a couple more hours. The procedure was a success. I stayed in the hospital for one more day before being released. Almost a week later Dr. Helfet approved flying back to the DR, everything was progressing as planned.
After getting home, I started therapy sessions for about six weeks. Finally, I had to do strengthening exercises to get back into shape.
Since the season was already over by the time of my recovery, I had four months to work on getting to my full strength. When September came by, I was back with my soccer team training and working towards the start of the season.
Even though it was a long and arduous process, I could not have gotten through it without the help and support of my family and friends. I appreciate all accommodations provided by Laura, Lady, Dr. Helfet and all the staff at HSS. I am grateful that today I can finally say I am BACK IN THE GAME!
Best regards,
Jose R. Amell
Soccer
All by Physician